The Message for World Kidney Day 2009

In spite of these laboratory updates, recent data demonstrate that a given patient’s knowledge that he or she has CKD is very low. In a recent analysis of almost half a million people in Taiwan who took part in a standard medical screening program, 12 percent had CKD [2] . It was noteworthy that less than four percent of those with CKD were aware of their condition. People with CKD are several times more likely to die from cardiovascular (CV) causes than those without CKD, thus, hypertension is a major risk factor in this context [3] . The combination of CKD and hypertension, therefore, is a major public health issue; because of the costly treatments necessary for endstage renal disease (ESRD), end stage CKD has also become a substantial burden to health budgets.